The 

Power Cruiser's Pilot 

By Bradford Burnham 



Illustrated with 
Original Photographs 



$1.00 

The Penton Publishing Co. 

Cleveland, Ohio 

1916 



Copyright, 191 C> 

by 

The Penton Publishing Co. 

Cleveland, Ohio 

All Rights Reserved 



MAR 30 1916 

A427452 



Foreword 



Cruising is a royal sport with wonderful oppor- 
tunities for obtaining health, happiness and character 
development. Shattered nerves or strained eyes are 
made whole again by rest and wholesome work afloat 
in a small boat. Enjoyment of life is made keener 
and deeper by intimate association with quiet pool 
and crested sea. A finer appreciation of Nature's 
power and grandeur is awakened by the touch of the 
wave. A spirit of unselfishness and an eagerness 
to do one's share of the work is stimulated by a zest 
and spice which only the water can give, while an 
atmosphere of good fellowship and comradeship at- 
tends the intimate life aboard the cruiser. Finally, 
the element of danger, often present, draws men 
closer to each other and to the big things of the 
universe. 

Like everything worth while the value received 
from cruising depends upon how it is done. To get 
the most out of a cruise it must be done in the 
right way. In this little book it has been my aim to 
help others, particularly beginners, cruise right. The 
advice given is practical, not theoretical, for it has 
been based on my own experience gained in cruises 
in all types of power craft and on every kind of 
water. I am hoping that in some small way these 
pages may help fellow cruisers to make of their 
cruise an orderly, comfortable vacation, instead of a 
dismal nightmare in which everything goes wrong. 

Bradford Burn ham. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER I — The Pure Joy of Cruising 11 

CHAPTER II — Some Aspects of Cruising 25 

CHAPTER III— The Boat 39 

CHAPTER IV— Equipment .57 

CHAPTER V — Some Good Cruising Waters 73 



L / S T O F /LLC S I R A T I O N S 

PAGE 

The Author in Cruising Togs 8 

It is not Uncommon to see Steam Yachts of the Older 

Types Converted into Gasoline Cruisers 12 

Good Fellowship is a Feature of Every Cruise 16 

Franzes — A 61-Foot Mississippi River Cruiser with 
Shoal Draft and All the Comforts of a House 

Boat 20 

The Family Launch for Comfort Has Its Devotees. .. . 23 

A 70-Foot Tunnel Stern Cruiser, Designed for Florida 

Service 26 

When the Boys are Aboard, Everybody is Happy 28 

Canal Cruising Attracts the Timid Mariner 33 

Southern Channels are Marked with Finger Stakes... 34 

Sometimes the Bridge Deck is Enclosed in the Form 

of a Pilot House 36 

The Modern Runabout Has Divided Seats and Tonneau 

Features Similar to the High-Grade Automobile... 40 

Good for Calm Days and Quiet Waters 42 

A Wave-Collecting Runabout at 30 Miles an Hour.... 45 

Comfort Can Be Easily [mprovised on a Small Boat... 46 

\ Splendid Type of Hunting Cabin Cruiser, Staunch 

Enough for Extended Trips 48 

The Author \.\i> His Cruiser, Querida, en Jacksonville 

Harbor 50 

( Iutward Bound 52 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

CONTINUED 

PAGE 

A Combination Raised Deck and Trunk Cabin Cruiser, 

Built for Slow Speed and Seagoing Service 54 

It is Surprising How Much Duffle a 25-Foot Cruiser 

Will Carry 56 

Where Hunger Provides the Sauce 59 

Navigating Under Difficulties 63 

Storm Curtains Make the Bridge Warm and Com- 
fortable 65 

The Harbor Buoy — Where is It ? 66 

Wash Day on the Cruise 70 

A Hitch Behind 74 

The Auxiliary Cruiser Affords Deck Room for All 
Hands 76 

A Bell Buoy 78 

A Bit of Shade Along the Delaware and Chesapeake 

Canals 80 

What the Cruiser Goes South for 82 

Not Much Chance for Making Speed in These South 

Carolina Swamps 84 

Out to Sea with a Fresh Breeze, the Auxiliary is 

Supreme 86 

Pilgrim Monument at Provincetown, Overlooking Mas- 
sachusetts Bay 90 




The author in cruising togs 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



CHAPTER I— THE PURE JOY OF CRUISING 

Someone has cleverly defined the much abused term 
"sport", as the pursuit of- pleasurable occupation which 
requires the exercise of all bodily muscles, judgment, 
skill of hand, foot and eye ; never to be followed 
without a degree of personal risk. Such a narrow 
definition includes football, mountain climing, hunting 
and canoeing, the handling of horses, the handling of 
boats — and not much else. And with each in its fullest 
measure, there must also be a thorough understanding 
of, and consequently a genuine love for, the particular 
sport indulged in. 

As the master understands and loves the horse he 
has trained, so the skipper understands and loves the 
boat beneath him, whether she be a rusted-plated, paint- 
patched, worn-out tramp, or a graceful, haughty yacht, 
adorned with gleaming brasswork, bright, rich teak- 
wood, and white-gowned women ; whether she be a 
stub-nosed, fish-soaked cat-boat, or a mite of a home- 
made, ridiculous power boat, equipped with a gentle 
and whimsical "one-lunger", which delivers desultory 
and homeopathic propulsion upon occasion. 

It is because of this vast range in the varieties of 
boats, together with the inevitable constant association 
with the sea in its ever-changing and ever-new moods 
and phases, with its consequent demand at all times 
for a human mastery over the grandest force of nature, 
that the handling of sail and power boats is raised to 
a higher plane than other sports less exacting of skill ; 

11 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



less personal in tone. ( )iic who docs not feel the wild 
exhilaration of the leaping craft, guided by a touch 
Upon the wheel that is sure and strong, through the 
Spume-tipped crested seas to the quiet, sheltered haven 
has no battle tire within him. The life of one who 
does not love the sea is as incomplete as that of one 
who has no ear for music. 




It is not uncommon to see steam yachts of the older 

types converted into gasoline cruisers 



Inspiration must indeed he dead within the one who 
i- not thrilled by the "spice" of the sea ; when on the 
wings of the half-gale is borne the tang of the spindrift 
upon set face, the rush of the crested wave when 
pierced by the sharp stem so that the sparkling water 
is split in two and hurled far to port and Starboard, 

12 



The Pure Joy of Cruising 



with a myriad of shimmering drops, salty tasting, 
showered upon the struggling pygmy at the tiny wheel, 
and the ''Mother Murphy", of white foam, and boiling, 
purling water underneath the speeding bows. Or, 
again, can any soul fail to feel inspired by that moon- 
less night, when the heavens were studded with stars 
ever so brilliant and ever so thickly strewn, making it 
light above, but very dark on the water, when with 
the wild sou'wester on your quarter you ran for the 
bright, white light, flashing hope and cheer through the 
darkness, and indicating' the little harbor which you 
sought? Then, indeed, you blessed the honest work- 
manship of your craft, praised the skill of her de- 
signer, and rejoiced in your own understanding of 
seamanship. For failure or incompetency in any of 
these things would have meant disaster. And when 
at last you raced by the light you had steered for so 
long, turned sharply up behind the protecting sand-spit, 
and let the mud hook splash cheerily in the black, still 
water, how good the quiet seemed, how pleasant the 
sounds ashore of a dog barking or a girl singing, with 
far beyond the distant thunder of the breakers on 
the bar! 

While the old-time sailing master and the devotee to 
the sailing yacht resents the invasion of the power 
boat, and scorns the gasoline cruiser's assertion that 
he, too, can gain from the sea and his craft a sport 
equal to that of his sail boat cousin, the power boat 
has certain immense advantages for business and 
pleasure which the boat dependent solely upon the 
vagaries of wind can never hope to attain. It is true, 
that the handling of a power boat, especially in heavy 
weather, cannot compete in skill and knowledge with 
what is required for the successful management of the 
boat with canvas. To some, too, there is more romance 
and poetry to the wind-driven craft bruising the waters 
with lee rail under, than to the melody of a never- 

13 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



faltering piece of cleverly constructed machinery, a 
human invention, whose rhythmic syncopation comes as 
music to the anxious mariner's ears, returning after the 
crash and turmoil of a boarding, tumbling sea is passed, 
and the treacherous inlet safely entered. 

Remember, however, on the sailing craft, the lee rail 
is not always beneath the surface ! Sometimes there 
isn't any lee rail, and your anger waxes while your 
patience wanes at your utter helplessness in the dead 
calm. Nowadays, when time is money so very fre- 
quently, the value of the power boat with its greater 
speed and reliability, has been quickly appreciated by 
those who ply the water for business purposes, and 
also, to a large extent, by those who ride the sea for 
pleasure also. So long as nobody invents a cheaper 
power than the wind, the sailing craft will not entirely 
disappear — and that date is happily likely to never 
come — but for the man who wishes to cruise to certain 
points with a reasonable degree of certainty of getting 
there within the time set, the power boat is the only 
practical craft. 

Auxiliary Cruiser is Eminently Practical 

Unquestionably for a very great number of purposes, 
a combination of wind and mechanical power is highly 
desirable, and in the modern auxiliary we have a boat 
eminently practical for certain kinds of cruising. With 
this mutual assistance rendered by the dual-power there 
is gained much economy and a greater degree of safety. 
For certain purposes, the sail boat with auxiliary 
motor is the only proper craft ; for others, the power 
boat, with an auxiliary sailing rig of one kind or 
another will be found the most suitable. In many 
instances the personal taste of the owner can be the 
determining factor. But in general, the out-and-out 
auxiliary, that is, the boat which is pre-eminently a 

14 



The Pure Joy of Cruising 



sail boat, especially when designed for the yawl or 
ketch rig, is the correct craft for extensive off-shore 
cruises, such as to the Canadian provinces, the West 
Indies, or the Pacific coast ; while the out-and-out 
power cruiser, with a sailing rig heavy enough to with- 
stand the average storm, and give the boat steerageway 
in an emergency, is the best type of craft for ordinary 
cruising along our coasts, upon the Great Lakes, and 
such popular, semi-protected bodies of water as Long 
Island sound, Chesapeake bay and the inland waters 
of Carolina, as well as' for the big river, the Hudson, 
the Mississippi, the St. John's where the slower speed 
and deeper draught of the auxiliary would be a handi- 
cap, at times insurmountable. 

Change the Real Vacation 

To get a real vacation, one should experience a 
change of people and a change of scene. A person 
is more apt to think of the latter than of the former, 
yet is not the other equally true? The more complete 
and radical the changes, the greater the benefits recur- 
ring from the vacation; the greater the pleasures found 
in it. With the power cruiser, this is readily attainable, 
no matter where your home mooring may be. For 
the power boat owner has an independence rarely 
afforded other mortals. His boat is ready at his beck 
and call to take him where he will and when he will. 
He may stay as long as he will, then go on. He may 
hurry; he may linger. He may visit the conventional, 
the usual, the common centers of social life, entering 
into it when he wills and ever able to retire from it 
to the privacy of his craft. Or, he may explore the 
remote, the unusual, where people are real and genuine, 
and where there is no dross and no veneer. Here he 
lays aside his white collar and other conventionalities, 
and is permitted the freedom of old clothes and the 

15 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



I 




16 



The Pure Joy of Cruising 



absence of the restraints which have irked him at home. 
In short, he can get down to nature, both ashore and 
afloat, and do some real living. 

To my mind the most interesting scenes and people 
are those not reached by the railroad, and seldom 
reached by anybody. You've seen the spots in Maine. 
I know of one in Carolina. They regarded our little 
craft — incidentally, the first outside boat to enter their 
harbor in three years, as a vehicle from another 
planet, and watched us silently, with big, staring eyes. 
At last, one of them, growing bold, asks if we have 
seen Niagara Falls and Coney Island, and whether we 
know their Jim, who works in a fish market in the 
Bronx. They listen to our tales with wonder and 
incredulity, too polite to call us liars. Then, inbred 
southern hospitality asserts itself, and we go ashore 
in a queer little boat, to eat a still queerer supper in 
a tiny, dark, log cabin. There are no hogs on the 
streets because the "bars have kotched" them all, and 
there is no wagon road or railroad through the dense, 
impenetrable pine forest behind them. It is with a new 
feeling that we finally bid farewell to this isolated 
community, where the people are happy and orderly, 
fishing four months of the year ; w r here lawyers are not 
needed, and where children are born without a physi- 
cian's help, as on the steppes of Russia — all within a 
hundred or so miles of Norfolk. Truly, what would 
you have taken for the experience? 

Unusual Incidents Make Cruising Worth While 

Such incidents as these help to make cruising worth 
while, and make the retrospection enjoyable and linger- 
ing. And there will live in memory also the countless 
other pleasant incidents of the cruise, the disagreeable 
features invariably vanishing first with time, while the 
pleasant features grow with the size of the fish you 

17 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



caught, till finally they become lost in the anticipations 
of your next cruise which have supplanted them. And 
so life attended by a regular home routine becomes 
bearable! You can pay the milliner and the milkman 
with better grace, and tackle the problem of lifting 
that mortgage with renewed energy, even if in the 
end the mortgage remains and you install a new 
engine instead. 

Of course, even with a power boat there are cruising 
limits, imposed by time and expense, two very active 
agents that rush in and refuse to be silenced. One 
cannot do much to get the better of the time limit ; 
except by getting a faster boat and rising earlier in 
the morning can he make his cruise longer within a 
given time. And such a course is emphatically not 
recommended beyond reasonable bounds. Otherwise, 
you will return home with the feeling of a six-day 
bicycle racer on the last lap ! Patience and more 
modest ambitions are better substitutes. 

Expense Becomes Less with Experience 

As to the expense, the longer you cruise the cheaper 
and more economically will you cruise. You will know 
how to cajole discounts out of dealers, and eliminate 
commissions in the purchase of supplies. You will 
know the value of carrying your own repair plant with 
you so far as possible, and shunning the professional 
boat yard as completely as you are able. You will 
know how to beach your small boat properly for 
painting or packing the stuffing box, and thus save the 
cost of hauling-out. You will know that self-mixed 
paint is cheaper and better than ready-mixed — when you 
know how. You will know that it is better to carry 
the dink than to tow it, and that when it is not prac- 
tical to carry it, you will not need a spring balance 
to show that it tows easier on the crest of the second 

18 



The Pure Joy of Cruising 



or third wave of your wake than elsewhere. You will 
know that the need for a pilot is seldom as urgent as 
the pilot claims. And you will know that the law is 
very broad on salvage claims and so will accept assist- 
ance, when in a tight hole, only as a last resort. 

Such items are for the most part of minor im- 
portance and others involve circumstances rarely met 
with. There are one or two other considerations of 
expense, however, that are of first importance. Per- 
haps the very first consideration which the prospective 
purchaser of a new or second-hand power boat should 
bear in mind is the question of the cost of operation. 
Too large a craft is an enormous burden. Not only 
is it more awkward to handle, but the labor required 
in keeping the boat in respectable commission and in 
operating it, is vastly more. The cost of operating a 
power boat increases with the size at an alarming and 
wholly disproportionate rate. When it is remembered 
that a small boat, properly designed and properly built, 
is just as seaworthy as a large one, if intelligently 
handled, and when it is remembered that really com- 
modious accommodations for living can now be secured 
on a craft no more than 35 or 40 feet long, over all, 
it is clear that the odds are all in favor of the smaller 
boat, except in the case where there is no need for 
financial considerations. 

In two boats of the same size there is often found 
a considerable difference in the respective costs of 
operation. Aside from the fact that some owners, on 
account of experience or inclination, are able to reduce 
expenses materially by themselves doing the work 
which other owners hire done — even to the entire 
operation of the boat without any professional paid 
hands — the chief difference in the costs is due to the 
respective power plants of the two boats. In the case 
of the lower horsepowers, this brings up a discussion 
of two and four-cycle engines, concerning the re- 

19 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 







•3 S 






^ 



20 



The Pure Joy of Cruising 



spective merits of which one may argue till the; cows 
come home. It is, of course, generally conceded that 
two-cycle engines "eat up" more gas per horsepower 
per hour than their cousins that explode every other 
revolution only; to which the two-cycle fraternity reply 
that their cost is so much less than that of four-cycle 
engines, that this difference is more than made up for. 
There is also the question of repairs to be considered, 
the two-cycle engine being the simpler, and therefore 
the easier for an amateur to keep in good running 
order. 

Added Speed is Obtained at High Cost 

It is a power boat axiom that beyond a certain point 
the increase of speed per added horsepower is entirely 
disproportionate to the increase of cost and consump- 
tion of gasoline ; while, furthermore, with every added 
horsepower beyond a certain point the additional amount 
of speed obtained with the same hull is very small, 
and in some cases negligible. Time and again ambi- 
tious owners have been disappointed to find that a 
substitution of an engine sometimes even of twice the. 
horsepower previously used, gives them very little addi- 
tional speed — and very considerable more expense. It 
is better to be satisfied with a good, fair speed of ten 
or eleven knots, and think of the coin and perhaps the 
superior living accommodations, with absence of vibra- 
tion, obtained thereby. 

While on this question of fuel, it is pertinent to 
remark that large fuel capacity is a positive saving to 
the cost of operation — much outweighing the slight 
additional cost of the installation of larger tanks — by 
permitting one to purchase his gasoline only at the 
larger supply stations, where it may be obtained cheaper 
than at the tanks of the smaller, branch stations, or 
dealers, where another man's profit has often been 

21 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



added onto the consumer's price. At the big tanks, too, 
the fuel is likely to be cleaner and freer of water 
and sediment than at the smaller depots. There would 
be quite a saving, for example, to anyone cruising from 
New York to Miami, if he need take on gasoline only 
at Jersey City, Norfolk, Charleston and Jacksonville, 
than if he had to stop also for it at a lot of small 
towns between each of these cities. There is additional 
safety, too, in having a big cruising radius, especially 
when on long outside runs, where one may have to 
heave-to or run before a storm. 

Small Boat is Safe to Cruise in 

There has been a great deal of warm air floating 
about the piazzas of yacht clubs where the growlers 
and stay-at-homes are wont to congregate, on the high 
cost of power boat cruising. This is due chiefly to the 
mistaken notion regarding the size of the boat neces- 
sary for extensive cruising. It has been my fortune 
to take a 2,500-mile cruise, much of it outside, in a 
25-footer; as well as several 1,000-mile cruises in a 
22-foot open boat. On none of these cruises were we 
ever in anything like the danger and peril which 
featured a certain run down the coast in a 90-footer 
when we butted into the edge of a West India hurri- 
cane off the North Carolina coast. This is merely an 
illustration of the folly of fear to stray from protected 
waters because your boat is "too small". 

Cruising with a small boat and three congenial 
souls, whose gastronomic tastes are not too fancy and 
whose hearts are satisfied with a run of a thousand 
miles in a month, is quite possible at a cost of one 
dollar a day. It sounds like an absurdity to many to 
conceive of the possibility, for instance, of traveling 
from New York to Norfolk and back by power boat, 
over some of the finest and most interesting cruising 

22 



The Pure Joy of Cruising 



waters in the country, at a cost of a dollar a day. 
Yet we have "been there", and know. 

A "Dollar-a-Day" Cruise 

We started from Norwich, Conn., and took the inside 
route to Norfolk, returning by the same courses, except 
that we omitted Baltimore — the total distance run 
being 1,150 miles. We had a 22-foot open boat, but 
had adapted it for sleeping on board — hard board, too ! 




The family launch for com- 
fort has its devotees 



The little 4j^-horsepower Lathrop consumed 155 gal- 
lons of gasoline, a rate of seven and two-thirds miles 
per gallon. At an average price of 16 cents a gallon 
our fuel cost us, therefore, $24. Oil and extra parts 
brought the engine cost up to around $25. Canal tolls 
removed $21 from us with alacrity, while another $8.50 
went for some repairs and towage charges. Our pro- 
visions for the meals we cooked aboard cost us $12, 
leaving a margin of $23.50 for meals ashore, hotels 
and sundries, to make up a total of $90, or a dollar 
a day apiece, for 30 days, there being three men. 

23 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



With a cabin boat of slightly larger dimensions the 
fuel consumption would be a little heavier, but the 
cabin would provide better living accommodations and 
so lower that cost, by eliminating restaurants and hotels 
from consideration. About the right proportion of the 
expenses for a 28-footer for a thousand-mile cruise 
with three men would be $35 for the engine, $10 for 
possible repairs, $20 for canal tolls, $20 for provisions, 
and $5 for sundries. Oh, yes, it's possible, but avoid 
canals and you can eat more ! 

By thus dividing the cost of operation and the cost 
of living among the members of the party, the indi- 
vidual cost is kept down to a modest figure, even with 
a boat 35 or 40 feet long — a figure small enough to 
permit thousands to enjoy a power boat cruise where 
they couldn't for the moment consider participating in 
a "yachting" voyage. The absence of paid help ; the 
presence of old clothes and, perhaps, of grease-stained 
fingers ; the comparatively low cost shared by all on 
board; and sometimes the disgraceful lack of luster 
on the brass, and the presence of soot and grime upon 
the erstwhile white sides of the hull; — these are the 
essential factors that differentiate power cruising from 
"yachting". 



24 



CHAPTER II— SOME ASPECTS OF CRUISING 

Down in the Everglades of Florida they use a 
power boat which is little more than a long, narrow 
packing box, with a tiny marine motor aboard. It is 
some 16 feet long and some 16 inches broad, and is 
intended for use upon the narrow lateral canals or 
ditches which form the vertebrae of the drainage system 
of that vast area. As roads are in most cases still 
lacking, and the railroad is unknown, such craft are 
frequently the only means of reaching the tomato land 
not yet fully opened to civilization, and pioneers take 
extensive "cruises" in such "boats" when prospecting 
deep into the interior. 

Now, compare such a boat and such a cruise with, 
for instance, the 6,000-mile run of the power yacht 
Lasata, a 90-foot, twin-screw speedy evolution of 
modern design, from New York to Los Angeles through 
the big Panama ditch, and you will see the tremendous 
range possible in power cruising, both as to the kind 
of boat used and the character of the waters traversed. 
Not only has the marine motor supplanted the white 
ash oar to a large extent in skiffs and tenders, but it 
has also largely taken the place of steam in big 100 
and 125-footers. 

Select Waters Suited to Your Boat 

Obviously the first thing to do when planning your 
cruise is to consider your boat and what sort of 
waters she is suited to. You would not want to fool 
around the coast of Maine very much with an Ever- 
glade ditch boat ; nor would you want to spend a sum- 
mer on Lake Hopatcong, or any other two-by-four 
fresh-water pond in 100-foot, off-shore cruiser. Cruis- 
ing with a houseboat must be very different as to 
where and when from cruising in a deep-draught 

25 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 







26 



Some Aspects of Cruising 



express cruiser, or again in a 16-foot canoe. And yet 
so generous and so versatile has been our endowment, 
here in the United States, that we have as many 
different kinds of water for cruising as we have kinds 
of power boats - and that's saying quite a good deal. 
With the canal at one end and the oceans and gulf 
at the other, we have a range of rivers, lakes, harbors, 
sounds and bays, where even the most exacting cruiser 
may find just the kind of cruising he desires. 

Naturally the small open boat is more restricted in 
its cruising radius than her big cabin sister; yet the 
latter, particularly if of deep draught, finds many en- 
joyable scenes denied her which are ideal for the little 
boat. Sometimes, of course, men force exceptions to 
these rules, and sometimes also to the rules of com- 
mon sense. I recall the cruise of Old Glory, an 
open, V-bottom runabout, from New York to Halifax, 
and I plead guilty myself to a cruise from New Eng- 
land to Hampton Roads in an open 22-footer. 

It might not be amiss in passing to mention the two 
types of boats which have been found entirely suitable 
for practically all kinds of cruising we find within our 
own "three-mile limit" — long, ocean cruisers being alone 
excepted. One is the "one-man" raised-deck cruiser 
of medium draught and not over 45 feet long; the 
other is the modern power houseboat, a type of "boat 
which is constantly increasing in popularity and which 
is now combining in one hull a shallow draught, sur- 
prising seaworthiness and "all the comforts of home". 
In another chapter the types of boats for cruising will 
be covered with greater detail. 

Nature of the Cruise Presents Problems 

There are many other factors which should govern 
the nature of your cruise besides the boat itself. Some 
are superficial ones ; you should stay in protected 

27 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 




■ft. 



C3 



^ 

fe 



28 



Some Aspects of Cruising 



waters if you shudder at the thought of seasickness ; 
you can cruise to fashionable resorts, where you must 
make colors on the gun each day and swab decks at 
dawn or feel ashamed ; or you can shun the swell yacht 
club and make for the wild and remote. Other factors 
are not superficial at all, but very, very real. They 
are, the time at your disposal ; the coin at your dis- 
posal ; and the amount of experience at your disposal. 
We have already seen that the cost of the cruise is 
largely dependent upon the distance you run, which, 
again, depends upon the time at your disposal. A very 
great many make the mistake of running too far in a 
given time. Now, I like variety and change of scene 
as well as anybody, and heartily detest being cooped 
up in a harbor which is devoid of interest by a 
nor'easter outside. It's fierce, especially when you're 
homeward bound and thinking of porcelain bathtubs, 
porterhouse steaks, and of her — maybe. On the other 
hand, it's just as bad to be compelled to turn out long 
before dawn and run long after dark without a chance 
to inspect some interesting bit of life in a quaint old 
fishing port or lie-over a day or two for bluefish or 
black duck, merely because you must keep up to 
schedule. 

So, if you must have a schedule at all — and you 
ought to have some sort of a vague, elastic one, if 
you're like me, or you'll never get anywhere at all — be 
careful and not make it too strenuous. Better leave 
some for next time than try to do too much on one 
short cruise. The cruise, remember, is not a race with 
everybody at high tension from start to finish, but is 
merely a ramble afloat, with plenty of time for explora- 
tion, for swimming, for hunting and fishing, and for 
plain ordinary loafing. That's the kind of a cruise that 
benefits one;* that gives one a real vacation. 

29 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



Hints for Daily Runs 

When planning your cruise schedule, make your 
side-trips and your stop-overs on your way out. This 
is especially important if you have to return over the 
same route as you went, when there is little to divert 
you from the strange, unexplainable desire to get home, 
once your bow is turned in that direction. A kindred 
feeling comes to the woodsman and the trapper ; no 
matter how much he is enjoying life in the open, once 
actually bound "out" for civilization, there is no stop- 
ping him till he is there. 

The experienced cruiser makes the best part of his 
runs in the morning — even if he is fond of after- 
sunrise blankets. There are all kinds of reasons for 
this. In almost all parts of the coast the weather is 
better and the sea calmer in the morning than in the 
afternoon. In fact, with a small boat it is sometimes 
almost necessary to make outside runs at night or early 
in the morning, when the wind goes down with the sun 
and also inconsiderately comes up with it, too. Then 
again, with an early start you have a valuable leeway 
for delays due to engine trouble, etc., which may still 
make it possible for you to make your port before 
nightfall. 

If you plan to get up at dawn or soon after, start 
at sunrise, which will be about the time you have 
cooked and eaten breakfast, and cleaned ship, and, if 
possible, plan to make port about two or three in the 
afternoon. Then you will have time before sunset 
for doing this or that necessary thing about the boat 
which you couldn't very well do when underway, or 
didn't want to anyway, for sight-seeing and photography 
ashore, for calls on other cruisers, and, for just taking 
it easy. With a nine-mile-an-hour boat this will give 
you a 60 to 70-mile run for the day, which is quite 
enough. If you have a 12-knot boat, you may make 

30 



Some Aspects of Cruising 



longer runs and expect comfort and rest; but hardly 
otherwise. And neither should you plan to run Sun- 
days, even if your engine doesn't mind working seven 
days a week. You'll find plenty to do one day in 
seven without running, I assure you. 

The factor of the degree of experience you enjoy is 
perhaps the most important of all in determining the 
character of the cruise you should take. Next to a 
sound boat should come a sound knowledge of how to 
handle it under normal and abnormal conditions. I am 
not speaking of the cruise taken on the big yacht with 
professional help, but am talking to the fellow who is 
his own captain and engineer, with a friend as mate, 
and his wife, perhaps, as chef and housekeeper. It is 
to such that this whole series is directed. 

Safety First a Good Cruising Slogan 

"Safety first" is the cry now-a-days, and it is a good 
slogan for the cruiser, and does not mean that he must 
be an elderly spinster. It does mean that he should 
not cruise to Bermuda without knowing his engine 
thoroughly ; it means he should not cruise Long Island 
Sound or Lake Ontario without knowing something of 
navigation. By this I do not mean that he should be 
able to take latitude and longitude. He may not even 
know which is the business end of a sextant, unless he 
is indeed bound for Bermuda. But he should under- 
stand the plotting of a course on a chart, the taking 
of cross bearings, the significance of buoys and aids to 
navigation, the use of the compass, and at least a 
superficial knowledge of the barometer. He should 
have a taffrail log along and know how to use it, if 
bound on long outside runs, and he should have, of 
course, perfect familiarity with the rules of the road 
and of lights, bells and whistles. This latter he should 
master, before he ever sets foot in his own power boat. 

31 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



These things a man must know if he would keep 
without the red danger sector of the lighthouse of 
safety at sea, when making the usual sort of vacation 
cruises up and down the coast or lakes. There are 
plenty of places where he may find them; I'll not inflict 
the initiated with lessons in them here. It is pitiable 
how many we find, however, who are as ignorant of 
the commonest rudiments of seamanship and navigation 
as they are of handling a locomotive. Such men are 
a positive menace. 

Patience Necessary in Canal Work 

Canal cruising is likely to be found pretty tame to 
most of us, though if you have never done any, the 
novelty of riding through green fields and orchards 
and forests and beside city streets and country roads 
in a boat will produce a queer and pleasant sensation. 
Yet in most cases one soon tires of the canal, especially 
if passing through one with a speed regulation, and 
we look upon the canal as a means to an end. As such, 
they are invaluable to the cruiser, for they open up 
otherwise inaccessible bodies of water and enlarge the 
scope of one's cruising a hundred-fold. 

I have found patience to be about the most valuable 
ally in canal work. The locktenders and bridgekeepers 
are invariably deliberate, but usually kind and agreeable 
if you meet them with deference and maybe five-cent 
cigars. The canals along the inside route to Florida 
are toll canals and these tolls should be reckoned in 
one's, appropriation for the cruise. For a 25-footer the 
toll charge of the Delaware and Raritan canals is six 
dollars ; for the Delaware and Chesapeake, four dol- 
lars; for the Dismal Swamp canal, six dollars (which 
may be avoided by taking the alternate route through 
the Chesapeake and Albermarle canal) ; and for the 
canals along the inland route of the Florida east coast 

32 



Some Aspects of Cruising 



there is now a charge of 25 cents a running foot 
between Jacksonville and Miami. These toll chains 
have been increased in number lately, and a com- 
mendable movement is on foot for doing away with 
them altogether as should be the case. The government 
canals of New York state, the Erie, Champlain and 
Oswego, are all free. In speaking of canals, mention 
should be made of the Cape Cod canal and its great 
value in shortening the distance and making the route 




Canal cruising attracts the timid mariner 

safer from New York and Long Island Sound to the 
cruising grounds of northern New England. The rates 
of the Cape Cod canal have recently been reduced and 
are less exorbitant than formerly, when it was first 
opened. 

In running canals where there are many locks, your 
boat should be protected with a lot of extra fenders. 

33 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



These may consist of burlap sacks, stuffed with straw, 
of heavy ropes wound with canvas, or of old fire hose. 
Automobile tires that have finished their original purpose 
in life also make very good fenders. It is well to 
adhere pretty closely to the speed regulations, even if 
you are in a hurry. There is apt to be a good deal 
of floating wreckage and other litter in canals and an 
eye should be kept for such. Night running in canals 
is very easy with the aid of a small searchlight. 




Southern channels are marked with 
finger stakes 

Finding Deep Water in Unmarked Channels 



The entrances to most canals are from tidal rivers, 
or streams having a good-sized current, and care must 
be exercised in getting safely into the locks. In most 
of these streams, such as Back creek, Maryland, which 
you enter when locking. out of the Delaware and Chesa- 
peake canal on your way south, the channel follows 
the rule of the "ebb tide bend", which means that as 
you come to a bend of the river to starboard, for 

34 



Some Aspects of Cruising 



instance, the channel will keep straight ahead, carrying 
you across the river in a diagonal direction, and run- 
ning thence close under the port hand shore till you 
come to the next bend, where the operation is repeated. 
In unbuoyed streams, where there is any considerable 
current, it is pretty easy to find the best water by 
this means. 

Most of us are mighty glad when we get clear of 
shallow bays and twisting creeks and can dip our bows 
into the deep blue of the ocean itself. But cruising on 
the ocean is a very different matter from cruising on 
the protected waters of the Erie canal. And cruising 
along the coast of Maine, wdiere there is a good harbor 
every few miles, requires a different sort of skill from 
cruising along the Carolina coast, where the harbors are 
few and very far between. In the former case, one 
must know his charts well, and have good local knowl- 
edge of the waters. There are more rocks off the 
Maine coast than there are trees in the state to buoy 
them, and there is frequently deep water to the edge 
of half tide reefs. In Carolina, however, conditions 
are very different. There are no rocks, and what 
harbors there are lead one over tidal bars to get to 
them. Here you must know something of the ways of 
bar inlets, you must be good at predicting the weather, 
and you must be equipped mentally and physically, for 
running straight to sea and riding out a storm. 

Confidence is Your Biggest Asset 

Experience bestows confidence and this is your 
biggest asset of all in outside work — confidence in your 
boat, and confidence in your own ability to handle her 
properly. Equipped with this valuable little article, 
your trip outside in adverse conditions, your all-night 
run, your weathering of the big blow, your long leg 
across the bay in thick fog, will be attended with a 

35 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



thrill of joy rather than a nutter of fear. But the 
confidence must be genuine and not false, for false 
confidence spells either ignorance or recklessness, either 




Sometimes the bridge deck is enclosed in the form of a 

pilot house 

of which should receive the big red flag of danger. 
You must have good security for that asset. 

To gain confidence you must have plenty of practice. 
Complete your education of the handling of your boat 
under favorable conditions first. Of course, as in the 

36 



Some Aspects of Cruising 



bromidic case of learning to swim, you must try your- 
self out in a critical time before you can be sure of 
your mastery of the boat. But much can be learned, 
in fact, a very great deal, right in your own harbor 
or in protected waters. Then given your sound, sea- 
worthy, well-designed craft, and you'll be ready for 
anything. You will not go into a blue funk when 
night finds you far off shore and the black water, re- 
lieved by apparently menacing white crests, seems to 
tower over you. You calmly watch the binnacle light 
and pick up your lighthouses, without mistaking a 
steamer's port light for a fixed red lighthouse, or 
taking the lights of a string of barges for a city. 

Night Running is Fascinating Sport 

There is something about night running which fascin- 
ates, yet alarms. Plenty of experienced power boat 
men have a deadly fear of getting caught out after 
dark, and would not think of making an all-night run 
for anything on earth or sea. As a matter of fact, 
night running along a well-lighted course is easier than 
day running — or fully as easy. The lights of a light- 
house show farther than the building does in- the day- 
time. As a rule, it is clearer, and one has the stars to 
aid him. To be far out at sea on one of those stilly 
moonless nights, clear above and very dark on the 
water, seems to bring one a rare feeling of aloofness 
from this world and" a closeness to something bigger. 
The world seems very, very small and insignificant 
somehow. 

Of course, I am not speaking of running a dangerous, 
unlighted coast or a tortuous inlet channel, but of a 
night run up Chesapeake bay, for example, or from 
Beaufort to Southport along the coast of North Caro- 
lina. When you have the choice of an inside route 
and an outside one at night, choose the outside one 

37 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



if the weather will permit. And remember that your 
boat will stand a far better chance in an emergency in 
deep water well out to sea than she will in shoals and 
close to a big surf line. The maxim of the sailing 
skipper, too, holds good to a certain extent with the 
power boat captain; you can always get to leeward, 
but you can't most always sometimes work to wind- 
ward. In a 90-footer, caught off Cape Fear on the 
edge of a West India hurricane, we stood straight out 
to sea for 65 miles rather than run any chance of 
having Frying Pan shoals under our lee. Had we 
kept on our course and found the force of the wind 
greater than the power of our engines — w r ell, the own- 
er's wife might have gotten some insurance, that's all. 

Be Sure Your Crew is the Right Sort 

While this little thing called confidence should be 
most positive in the owner who is his own captain, his 
shipmates should have their share of it, too. There's 
precious little pleasure in cruising with fellows who 
are either afraid of rough water or afraid of rough 
work. It is just as important for the success of your 
cruise that the fellows with you should be of the right 
sort, as it is that the boat should be fitted for what 
is before her. A friend of mine took his bride on a 
canoe trip down the east coast of Florida in the 
days when there was no railroad, no Poinciana and 
Royal Palm hotels, and barring New Smyrna and Key 
West, no white women at all. They were fairly well 
acquainted before the cruise was over. 

So it is with life on a small cruiser, especially when 
out in the wilder sections. It is an intensely intimate 
life and there are a great many uncomfortable and 
unpleasant jobs and features (which happily dwindle 
in retrospect) which call for a display of the qualities 
in a man which make him a good sort and an eligible 
for the fraternity of true power boat cruisers. 

38 



CHAPTER III— THE BOAT 

The boat is the all-important implement of power 
boat cruising. It is, therefore, highly essential that this 
tool be suitable for the work cut out for it to per- 
form; or, what is usually easier, that the work be 
adapted to the tool in hand. In other words, most 
people must make their cruise of a kind practical for 
the boat in their possession. They cannot go down 
the Inside Route to Miami with a keel auxiliary yawl 
drawing 7 feet. They should not go down it in an 
18-foot sharpie built of boards indiscriminately clapped 
together. 

On the other hand, when buying a boat, much thought 
should be given in advance to the uses to be made of 
the boat, the kind of waters most frequently to be met 
with, and all its latent possibilities for real cruising. 
Then, when you come to consider what cruise you 
will take next vacation, you do not find the very ones 
you particularly wish to make eliminated from con- 
sideration, because you had borne in mind that such 
cruising was the kind you most enjoyed and would 
want to take, and had accordingly bought a boat which 
was suitable for such service, even at the sacrifice of 
some other cherished hope — speed, for instance. Even 
if you could not afford to combine all the desired 
features in one hull (for speed in a cruiser is ex- 
pensive, and extensive living accommodations mean a 
high cost of maintenance), it is probable you will find 
the radius longer than you imagined. Necessity has 
forced the architects and designers to exercise a rare 
amount of skill in evolving in the small cruiser of 
today a surprisingly seaworthy and able hull without, 
and a surprisingly complete home within; while refine- 
ments of engine design have made the power plant 
wonderfully efficient and economical. Possibly you 
haven't even a cabin boat ; still you can cruise, if you 

39 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 




40 



The Boat 



plan it scientifically and do a little roughing. In short, 
it would be very hard indeed to find a power craft 
afloat today which could not be used for some sort of 
a happy-go-lucky cruise. 

This does not mean that you can live on board every 
power boat. There are no Pullman berths on Baby 
Speed Demon — however much one may need them 
after a 40-mile run in this spanking machine. But 
neither are there any sleeping accommodations to an 
automobile — except for a very few gilded limousines — 
yet an automobile tour is nothing but a land cruise. 
Its parallel afloat is the modern runabout, fast and 
elegant, with interior arrangements at the present time 
very much like those of the motor car. To some the 
superior speed and consequent greater size to a day's 
run possible with the swift, slender runabouts of today 
more than make up for the inconvenience of having 
to put up at a hotel each night or pitch a tent on a 
bit of beach or field you have borrowed for the night. 
As for me, I prefer to go slower and be comfortable — 
whether cruising through salt water or through life. 

Cruising Classified by Types of Boats 

The boat, with its individual restrictions and pos- 
sibilities, offers the most convenient means of classify- 
ing the widely differing kinds of cruising. Considera- 
tion of all the various forms of power boat cruising 
brings us down to four general types with quite tangible 
lines of demarcation between each one and the other 
three. 

The first of these is the cruising which one can do 
with the small, open power boat, the skiff with out- 
board motor, the power canoe, and also the hydroplane. 
The last named, however, is altogether too valuable, 
too expensive to run, and too inadequate in everything 
except speed and noise, to be used except in races and 

41 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



trials, and its cruising should be limited to its tours 
in box cars and the 'tween decks of steamships. With 
the other sort — the inexpensive small power craft of 
all the many varieties one finds on rivers, lakes and 
harbors — a certain amount of real cruising is quite 
feasible, although this class is obviously by far the 
most restricted of the four. 

When the outboard-powered skiff or the lady-like, 
narrow and coquettish "launch" with striped awning 
and blue or yellow waterline is located on a small 
fresh-water pond or the upper stretches of a river 
above the dam, as is so often the case, it must confine 




Good for calm days and quiet waters 

its rambles within the limits naturally imposed. But 
when used on the inner harbor or estuary, there are 
no such restrictions and the courageous owner can go 
as far as he likes. Yet the speed of these boats is so 
little that one should be careful about venturing far 
outside the harbor on account of squalls or sudden 
shifts of weather, and "cruises" of any sort must be 
limited to runs over routes where there is little, if 
any, open water, and where the harbors are close and 
easy of access. Naturally, only a minimum equipment 
can be carried, and the sleeping as well as most of the 
eating must be done ashore. A protection of some 
sort from the rain and spray should be improvised, 

42 



The Boat 



and all equipment should be carried in waterproof con- 
tainers of some sort. 

There should be carried at all time a supply of food 
and water sufficient to last several days. A wicker- 
covered demijohn or stone jug is the best container 
for the drinking water. The food should be in cans 
and of a character which may be eaten without further 
cooking. Hardtack, chocolate and raisins are the 
standard, or the emergency rations used in the army 
are excellent. These consist of cubical cans, each 
containing enough food to last a man 24 hours. In 
most cases, however, you will find yourself able to put 
in the regular canned goods, etc., and can cook from a 
little fire on the beach. Of course, the compass and 
heavy ground tackle should never be left behind. 
Thermos bottles are valuable. 

The latitude afforded the power canoe is considera- 
bly broader. Not only is the power canoe under the 
direction of an expert considerably safer in heavy 
weather than many power boats, which may be top- 
heavy or have rotted planks, but it is much faster as 
well. While the little harbor craft plug along at six 
or six and a half knots, the power canoe makes fourteen 
and sometimes more. This is a great advantage in 
cruising along semi-protected routes, where there are 
harbors one may dodge into upon the first indication 
of a storm. A fast craft can get in before it breaks, 
or if forced to stay out and take it, can maintain head- 
way easier and be handled much more surely than a 
poorly powered and slow boat. It is but a step from 
the power canoe with sponsons and canvas decking over 
all of the interior except where the occupants sit, to 
the Alaskan kyack, a very seaworthy craft. A chap 
up New London way has a power canoe with which 
he has cruised through the southern New England 
sounds, making quick dashes from port to port and 
sometimes going eight to ten miles from shore. It 

43 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



should be borne in mind, too, that the power canoe, 
and also the light power skiff or dory, can be beached 
quite easily and safely, a great advantage when skirting 
a long beach where harbors are few and far between. 
But, after all, the scope is limited, the equipment must 
be the minimum, and many would find more fun in 
staying at home and skipping about their own familiar 
waters. 

The Most Numerous Class are Open Boats 

The boats suited to the second class of cruising are 
probably the most numerous of any variety of power 
craft afloat. And yet, to every sound and practical 
one, there are a dozen freaks or makeshifts, usually 
poorly built of cheap materials, launched to sell to 
suckers, and dangerous to all who go to sea in them. 
Under the general term "open boat" is included a 
tremendous fleet. There is the clinker-built, full- 
bodied life boat, and its sister, the slimmer, high-ended 
whale boat. There is the dory of Cape Cod, the dory 
of Seabright, the Maine lobster boat, and the vast 
navy of open fishing boats, each with features peculiar 
to the builders of that locality, but a great fleet of able, 
seaworthy craft, designed and constructed by men with 
the experience of their grandfathers behind them — so 
far as the hulls are concerned. Hundreds of open 
boats are built along the same lines, too, for pleasure 
alone. 

It is obvious that the cruising possibilities of this 
type of boat are a great deal wider than the boats in 
the first group. To this same class belong also another 
increasingly popular type, the open runabout. It be- 
longs in this class only in that its cruising scope is about 
the same as the less pretentious "ordinary power boat". 
It is far more expensive, much faster, and higher-pow- 
ered, and less seaworthy. Yet neither type has a cabin 

44 



The Boat 

or real living accommodations, though many of the 
so-called open fishing boats are provided with half- 
cabins or shelters, which, however, are seldom large 
enough to do more than crawl into out of the rain. 
Assuming that the superior speed of the runabout 
about equalizes the superior sea-going qualities of the 
open boat built for business, the two types may be 
classed together so far as cruising goes. There is 
generally more room in the less pretentious open boat, 
for the engine takes up less space, and there is invari- 




A wave-collecting runabout at 
30 miles an hour 



ably more stowage room for cruising equipment. The 
runabout can make longer runs each day, but it must 
be more careful in picking good days for long outside 
runs. The equipment for both must be carefully select- 
ed. As these open boats run all the way from 18 feet 
(an extreme under-limit for seaworthiness) up to 40 
and 45 feet, the number in the party and the amount 
of equipment carried must be regulated to the capacities 
of the boat. The longer the cruise, too, the larger the 
amount of equipment and the less amount of crowding 
you can stand for. 

45 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



Open Boat Cruiser Need Not Sleep Ashore 

The open boat cruiser does not need to sleep or 
cook ashore, if his boat is large enough to be admitted 
to the class with sufficient seaworthiness to make ex- 
tended cruises. All open boats, nowadays, have or 
should have a spray hood or canvas cover, entirely 




Comfort can be easily improvised on a small boat 



enclosing the inside of the boat. In the case of the 
runabout the automobile top is usually employed to 
best advantage. With the other type some form of 
waterproof spray hood is to be chosen. In most cases 
the so-called melon form of hood will be found the 
most satisfactory. This is the kind that folds down 
on the deck outside the coaming on one side and is 
held open with a brass or galvanized pipe bow amid- 

46 



The Boat 

ships with curved longitudinal ribs running up on this 
bow. This form of hood is superior to the kind that 
swings up in front with a series of hoops, as it can 
be placed partly up to exclude spray or sun on one 
side. Two of these hoods, one forward and the other 
aft, may be made to cover the whole boat, and do away 
with the old familiar tent-shaped canvas cover, strung 
over the cockpit on a wire or clothes line. 

The interiors of most of the open boats have lockers 
running along the sides, which form the seats. These 
sometimes run aft as-far as the engine, which is usually 
located amidships and housed in, or they may run all 
around the boat inside the coaming. These lockers 
should be divided up for receiving, the different parts 
of the equipment. The clothing, etc, will probably 
have to be carried in a small trunk or chest, set aft of 
the engine and covered with tarpaulin. The forward 
lockers may be improvised for sleeping in the follow- 
ing way: Usually they are too narrow, or too curved 
to form a comfortable berth, but by getting a number 
of tongue and grooved boards cut to fit the inside of 
the boat from the forward bulkhead aft, stretching 
them athwartship with the ends resting upon the locker 
covers you have a wide level surface, upon which you 
can place the seat cushions as a mattress and roll up 
in your blankets on top, the spray hood affording 
shelter and a semblance of privacy. This sleeping on 
board (s) is really a more comfortable stunt than it 
sounds in cold print. In the daytime the boards may 
be piled up on top of one another and set alongside 
the engine housing. 

Cooking on the open boat is best performed on a 
single-burner oil vapor or alcohol stove. As these 
stoves are good for nothing except the nourishing of 
select forms of profane language unless they are kept 
away from all wind, even to the minutest draught, it 
is best to provide a large and deep wooden box of 

47 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 










8 






•"3 
^3 



48 



The Boat 



square size, into which you may set the stove. Its 
dimensions should be such as to permit the frying pan 
or stew kettle to repose upon the top of the stove. If 
a few draught holes are bored in the sides of the box 
low down, the whole contraption — lighted stove, kettle, 
boiled dinner and all — can be safely covered with a 
piece of thick cardboard laid across the top of the box 
and forgotten till "dinner is served". 

Three is the outside limit in numbers for open boat 
cruising. And to negotiate it happily, the equipment 
must be scientifically prepared beforehand. Next to 
the boat and the personnel, the equipment is the most 
important feature to a cruise, and we'll dip into that 
subject more fully in the next chapter. The ideal 
waters for open boat cruising are the big rivers, the 
semi-protected waters, where harbors are frequent, and 
towns plentiful, so that the provisions may be kept 
fairly low and be re-stocked every few days. A very 
fine open boat cruise is from New York to Montreal 
(or part way) — the Hudson river, Champlain canal, 
Lake Champlain and the rivers to the north affording 
just the right amount of variety and zest for an able 
little 22-footer laden with good fellows and good cheer. 

Next Comes the Small Cruiser 

We next come to the small cruiser — the backbone of 
the power boat industry so far as pleasure craft are 
concerned. Except on inland lakes, shallow rivers and 
a few exceptional points where there is a local influence 
favoring some other type of boat, the "one-man cruiser" 
is the most popular all around power boat afloat. They 
range from 24 to 45 feet in length and the design is 
more or less standardized. There is a raised-deck or 
half-trunk cabin forward, which gives a high freeboard 
and consequently a dry boat and roomy cabin. The cabin 
extends from the peak to amidships and frequently 

49 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



| 

*P§ 1 




ft! 



mm 



mm 







w 

a 
c 



^ 
§ 

Q 






50 



The Boat 



still farther aft. Then comes a self-bailing cockpit 
with a wide transom seat in the stern. The engine is 
placed under the cockpit floor, with flywheel in cabin 
under companionway stairs. Access to the whole motor 
is had by a hatch in cockpit floor, which may be flush 
or slightly raised. Fuel is usually carried in tanks 
under cockpit seats. 

The smallest fellows have no built-in cruising facil- 
ities, as a rule. Cooking has to be done on a one- 
burner stove with no permanent resting place ; there 
is no ice box except a tub or movable one carried in 
the cockpit; fresh water must be carried in large jugs 
or casks ; and the provisions must go anywhere. There 
is need for much science in successful cruising of this 
sort, but experience teaches a person to improvise 
accommodations for everything and enables one to get 
along all right where another would have everything 
in a muddle from start to finish. 

Gradually, however, with the growing popularity of 
extensive cruising in small craft, the designers and 
builders have found ways in which to provide really 
wonderful accommodations in a very small hull. There 
is usually room for a toilet forward, and a chain 
locker and fresh water tank forward of that. The 
transom seats in cabin have extensions affording wide 
and comfortable berths with drawer or locker room 
beneath. 

Built-in Galley is of Great Importance 

A built-in galley is of great importance — even more 
so than a permanent ice box. If you can have a regular 
shelf, lined with galvanized sheeting, wide enough for 
a two-burner stove, with running water and room above 
for hanging pots and pans and cupboard room beneath 
for provisions, the culinary department will be well 
taken care of and you can count on having made a 

51 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



big strike forward toward a successful cruise. Some 
initial expense in installing a regular galley may safely 
be met with as the saving in eliminating restaurants 
and hotels, as a regular thing, is considerable, while 
the greater convenience and enjoyment is immeasurable. 
The cockpit should be really self -bailing. That is 
it should have large scuppers — at least 2 inches in 
diameter and the floor should be at least 15 inches 
above the waterline. The hatch over engine should be 




Outward bound 



watertight and the step into companionway should be a 
foot high and watertight. 

Electric lighting is now so simple on a cruiser that 
it should be installed, if at all possible, both for the 
sake of safety and convenience. Riding lights should 
be oil lanterns, however, and if the running lights are 
electric, there should be oil lights aboard to supplement 
them. If an electric lamp is used for a binnacle light, 
it should be very small and the globe should be frosted 
and the dial shaded to reduce eye strain. Remember, 
too, if you use an electric binnacle lamp, to cross the 

52 



The Boat 



wires to prevent deviation of the needle. There should 
be a trouble lamp, for which current can be taken from 
the regular system. A couple of hand flash lamps are 
very handy for use in going ashore in the tender or 
on board the cruiser if anything goes wrong. 

If properly designed, the small cruiser of today is 
very able and very comfortable. The V-bottom, now 
so much in vogue, has brought greater speed and, 
according to some, greater strength and seaworthiness 
as well. In the larger "small cruisers'' many comforts 
are possible which are denied the smallest ones. There 
are clothes lockers, commodious cupboards, shelf room, 
a desk, a built-in ice box, which may be filled from the 
deck, Pullman berths, heating plants and other luxuries. 
But these are by no means necessary to extensive cruis- 
ing, even to a trip from Halifax to Cuba, if one so 
desires. The little one-man cruiser is easy and eco- 
nomical to keep in respectable shape, it is extremely 
easy to handle, may be operated with a small and 
simple engine, and, if properly designed, properly 
built, properly taken care of, properly equipped, 
properly handled, can go anywhere on the seven seas 
that its fuel capacity can carry it. 

Forty-Five the Limit in One-Man Boats 

Forty-five feet is the. outside limit for a really "one- 
man" boat. Of course, much larger boats can have 
"controls at the bridge", etc., the engine being left to 
take care of itself — a mighty poor policy, no matter 
what the engine. The theory that "anybody can steer" 
is all very well for a few minutes out in the open, 
while the captain is looking over the oiling system of 
the engine and trying the pet cocks, but there are times 
when it is very dangerous to leave the engine alone. 
There should be a man at the engine whenever a 
landing is made, for when handled from the bridge, 

S3 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 




54 



The Boat 



the engine may stall and the boat may be injured. 
But for other reasons a man should not have too big 
a boat to handle without paid help. A fine cruiser 
should receive fine care and constant attention when in 
commission. This is impossible with the business man 
who can only be on his boat a couple of hours in the 
evening and over the week ends. With a boat of from 
45 to 60 feet, however, and the corresponding power 
plant, a man can get along with comparatively un- 
skilled help if he's something of a navigator and engi- 
neer himself. With one permanent hand aboard to 
look out for the engine, keep the boat clean and ship- 
shape, and perhaps act as steward as well, the owner 
can get some pleasure besides work out of his boat. 
His engine will not receive as good treatment probably 
as would be the case if he hired a regular engineer, 
but with what he saves on wages he can pay for more 
outside service. An engineer is more important than 
a captain. The latter individual, except on the larger 
craft, is frequently called upon to do no more than take 
the wheel when the owner tires of it, swab decks, go 
to market, set colors, and do a million odd jobs which 
suit the whims of the sometimes petulant owner. 

The big power yachts are a revelation in modern 
luxury and comfort. It is now an old story how the 
gasoline engine is replacing the marine steam engine on 
large yachts because of its saving of space, crew and 
other big items. And now that large, high-speed, heavy- 
duty engines have been designed — that is, a long-stroke 
motor to turn at from 600 to 1,200 revolutions per 
minute — and have passed the experimental stage, speed 
in large power craft is becoming more common, and 
the "express cruiser" and racing yacht has become the 
last word in power boating. 



55 



The Power Cruiser' s Pilot 




^3 



■5S 



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S 



^ 
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56 



CHAPTER IV— EQUIPMENT 

It is as important to a successful cruise that the 
equipment carried be correct, as it is for a bride's 
trousseau, to be just right. Strangely enough, even 
seasoned boat men are frequently at a total loss to 
know just how much to carry and just what to carry 
as cruising equipment. A chap who knew boats once 
prevailed upon four friends to embark with him upon 
what was to be a week's outing up the Sound. The 
conveyance was a 35-foot auxiliary yawl. Each mem- 
ber of the expedition got busy on a list of what to 
bring. The result may be imagined. In spite of the 
trunks, telescope bags, valises, suit cases (the suit 
case is an impedimenta absolutely unexcelled in ob- 
trusiveness and inability to be stowed anywhere) and 
hand bags, a great pile of cans seemed to be the only 
thing on the Club float on the day of departure. 

This mountain of cans loomed from afar. Trucks 
and drays had been bringing capacity loads since dawn, 
the driver in each case handing the discomfited owner 
an invoice as long as a Cook's ticket around the world. 
The task of stowing these supplies aboard occupied the 
balance of the day, till finally at nearly sundown the 
owner climbed over, wiggled through the cargo to the 
engine and they got underway. There was no room 
on board for anybody or anything but cans. Every 
locker was crammed till it wouldn't close, and the 
cabin floor was covered with a thick layer of them. 
As soon as the yawl got out into a seaway the cans 
began dancing around with all the vivacity and 
spontaneity of Eva Tanguay. The worst of it was, 
they could not find anything they wanted, and even so 
huge a collection as that did not contain many of the 
most important and essential articles to a successful 
cruise. The yawl ran into a squall, the party, dodging 

57 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



cans on every side, groped their way into a harbor and 
waited for the morrow. Fortunately, there was a rail- 
road near at hand and with the morrow came the train 
back to town. 

The other extreme is no less objectionable. A power 
boat's capacity for the carrying of equipment is in- 
finitely greater than that of a pack saddle or a canoe, 
and there is no need of depriving oneself of the things 
that go to make the cruise comfortable and safe to 
one's health. To know just what these things should 
be for different kinds of cruises, and to strike a happy 
balance between too much and too little, is something 
much experience only can fully bring, though the 
experience of others will greatly help in accomplishing 
this end. 

An Example of Cruising Comfort 

A father and his son made a cruise in a 24-foot 
catboat, without power, from New Bedford, Mass., to 
Miami, Fla., and return. They were gone from Sep- 
tember to June, meeting all varieties of climate and 
temperature, and every sort of weather and water. 
They knew how to cruise. Their equipment was scien- 
tifically chosen, and their arrangement of it below 
decks was no less scientific. Except on one occasion, 
when they attempted to take their 4-foot draught 
through an inlet on the Carolina coast, where a storm 
had left only 26 inches of water, causing a near-ship- 
wreck, their craft was invariably to be found with 
everything shipshape and Bristol-fashion. Their limited 
cabin accommodations were not further restricted with 
useless impedimenta. Yet their equipment was mar- 
velously complete and liberal. It included, for exam- 
ple, a steamer chair, a small library of good reading — 
and a cat. Clam rake and fishing tackle were their 
inseparable companions, while canned goods and fancy 

58 



Equipment 



foods were conspicuous by their absence. They never 
put to sea without food and water enough to last them 
three weeks. They had a Shipmate stove and carried 
on the stern a contrivance for cleaning fish and open- 
ing oysters. Their grocery and meat bills were small, 
their laundry bills smaller, and their gasoline bill (fuel 
for a 16-foot launch) was smallest of all. And the 




Where hunger provides the sauce 



over-all length of the boat was 24 feet. Many a 
35-footer has come into port on a cold, wet evening, 
with none of the cheer and warmth within found in 
the cozy little Mascot. While the size of the boat, 
the nature of the cruise, and, to a lesser extent, the 
inclinations of the shipmates, will determine up to a 
certain degree what the equipment should be, there are 
certain items which should appear on every list, no 
matter how short the cruise or how protected the 
waters to be traveled. 

To begin with, there are the government require- 
ments. You will find them here in tabulated form. 

59 



The Power Cruiser's Pjlot 





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61 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



Government Regulations are Important 

The government regulations are very important and 
the penalty for their disregard is becoming more severe. 
In certain sections the inspectors are extremely vigilant 
and heavy fines for the non-observance of these reg- 
ulations are becoming frequent. Fortunately, boat men 
are coming to see their importance from a practical as 
well as legal standpoint and are more careful to ob- 
serve them. The rules for lights are especially im- 
portant. In the case of the boat carrying passengers 
for hire the regular government-passed life-preservers 
must be carried — one for each person on board. Fur- 
thermore, the owner of a boat carrying passengers for 
hire must first obtain a license for same from the local 
steamboat inspectors. There is no examination for this 
at present. The candidate must merely affirm that he 
has had experience in handling power craft, stating the 
size of the boat and boats he has operated and the 
length of time on each. 

The equipment required by law should be supple- 
mented at all times by additional items which are of 
equal importance. In fact, without questioning the 
wisdom of the omniscient governmental power, it seems 
to humble us that there might be times aboard a boat 
on the high seas when a compass might come in for 
more importance than that second copy of the Pilot 
Rules. Ground tackle is convenient, too, at times. 
And so is a knowledge of said Pilot Rules. It is in- 
teresting to see how some boat men "carry" these 
rules. We once saw the two copies nailed securely 
to the cabin bulkhead with a 4-inch nail through both 
of them. The inspectors were in the neighborhood 
and the owner did not intend to be caught napping. 
Another government requirement for Classes II and III 
is a fog horn. Search the rules of the road as you 
may and you'll have a hard job finding a legitimate 

62 



Equipment 



use for it. If your engine is broken down and you 
are trying to work in under emergency sailing rig, you 
can toot it legitimately; and perhaps you can find an 
excuse for it if you are being towed. However, these 
conditions are infrequent. As a matter of fact, the fog 
horn is used by lots of power boaters in place of the 
air whistle when there's real danger, because its voice 
is usually louder if less musical. Inspectors are queer 




Navigating under difficulties 

folk, too. One of them passed a "prolonged blast pro- 
ducing whistle", which the owner was pumping fran- 
tically and noiselessly while a faithful confederate with 
head out a cabin window exhausted his lungs mightily 
into an innocent 4-inch mouth whistle. 



Two Anchors Should Be Carried 

There is an abundance of literature upon the subject 
of ground tackle, the proper weight of anchor, chain 

63 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



or cable, for different-sized boats, the amount of scope 
to let out for different depths7 etc. Here it is sufficient 
to state that for an ordinary cruise two anchors should 
be carried, with independent cables (stowed separately 
by dividing the chain locker in two compartments) and 
with the heavier anchor provided with a heavier cable 
at least 30 fathoms long. If stockless anchors are used, 
they should be heavier and be given a longer rode 
than the regular anchors. For a 30-footer the heavier 
anchor should weigh 50 pounds and a % manila cable 
used. Remember, a 35-pound anchor will hold more 
with a long rode than a 50-pound anchor with a some- 
what shorter one. Sad experience in one unforgettable 
instance taught me that. 

Compass is Most Important 

Next to adequate ground tackle, perhaps the most 
important "supplementary" item of equipment is the 
compass. The regular compass (it is always better to 
carry an additional smaller compass if on long outside 
cruises) should, of course, be an oil or spirit compass 
of reliable make, with a dial wide enough to maintain 
a fair amount of steadiness and which can be easily 
read. It should be placed at a convenient height and, 
of course, lined up absolutely accurately. It should 
then be compensated as accurately as possible. This is 
very hard to do on small craft with machinery near at 
hand, as is usually the case. For all practical purposes 
it is almost as well to check your compass up on known 
bearings at 16 points, make out a table of the variation 
for each point and allow for it when plotting your 
course. This is quite a job, but very interesting work. 
The old hand knows his compass as well as the master 
mariner can judge the leeway his vessel is making, 
and makes allowances for the different bearings with- 
out thinking of it. For night steering by compass a 

64 



Equipment 



binnacle is necessary. If electric binnacle lights are 
used, remember to cross your wires to eliminate varia- 
tion. A shade keeping all but four points of the 
compass in darkness reduces eye strain. Personally, 
the writer favors oil binnacle lights as more trust- 
worthy and easier on the eyes. Astral oil should be 
used for this purpose. 

The use of the compass and the correct following 
of a compass course is one of the most fascinating 




Storm Curtains make the bridge warm and comfortable 



features of power boat cruising. The satisfaction of 
bringing up your objective point on schedule time dead 
ahead in thick weather is immense. It is something 
that cannot be taught by printed lines. Only the ex- 
perience which comes with practice will bring it per- 
fectly. To anticipate the ship's movements correctly, 
to line up your bow with a bit of cloud, a headland, 
or a star, and check it from time to time with the 
needle, to accurately gage your leeway and your tidal 

65 



The Power Cruiser's Pjlot 



set, are things which make cruising and small boat 
handling infinitely finer sport than anything it can be 
compared with, such as guiding an auto along a dusty 
road. The beginner is apt to watch the needle too 
much and the water too little and to give too much 
wheel. 




The harbor buoy — Where is it? 



The average cruiser has little need for the barometer. 
Even a slim experience will give him the ability to 
predict a coming storm in time to find shelter before 
it breaks. It is an instrument for the veteran only — 
and a tremendously valuable one to him, too. A 
barometer is an item of equipment which should be 
carried on long outside cruises, however, if the owner 
knows something about it. This, too, is a matter of 
experience, though books will assist one greatly if 
studied carefully. Every "hard shell", however, has 
his own ideas on barometric readings and weather 

66 



Equipment 



predictions therefrom, but there are certain general 
laws governing the barometer for various latitudes and 
localities which one should know. 

Charts, parallel rules, dividers, marine glasses, per- 
haps a taflrail log, and the lead, complete the naviga- 
tion equipment for the average cruiser. The use of 
each should be thoroughly mastered. The navigator 
should also carry a government tide table and use it. 

Too much gasoline is wasted by not making the best 
use of the tides. When a man can actually win a 
race over another man, who has a faster boat and goes 
a shorter mileage,, simply by using the tides to best 
advantage, their value is apparent. Such cases are on 
record and can be relied upon as true. The navigator 
should also carry a light and buoy list, and the govern- 
ment "Coast Pilots" kept up-to-date (as are his charts 
also) by means of the weekly "Notice to Mariners'', 
which is for free distribution, published jointly by the 
Bureau of Lighthouses and the Coast and Geodetic 
Survey. 

Every Cruiser Should Know His Engine 

Turning to the mechanical department, which is no 
less important than the navigation department, we find 
a knowledge of the subject at hand just as essential. 
Every cruiser should know his engine. There are too 
many who know only how to start it, keep it oiled, 
and cuss it out when it breaks down from neglect. 
The modern marine engine in the lower horsepowers 
is extremely simple in both two and four-cycle types. 
The cruiser does not have to be a mechanical or elec- 
trical engineer to safely go to sea. Little by little he 
confidence with each advance, he should gradually 
will learn his engine as he learns his boat, and gaining 
acquire the necessary experience, which will come to 
him in no other way — certainly not by calling in outside 

67 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



help whenever something goes wrong or by hiring 
someone to put the engine in commission each spring 
and give her a "general overhauling" every so often. 
He should know, for instance, that if his paint be- 
gins to blister and smell, something is wrong with the 
circulation system; he should know that base explosions 
come from lean mixtures and he should be able to 
detect faulty ignition from gasoline trouble. He should 
not lose his head when the engine stops with the boat 
out of sight of land or other craft. Instead, he should 
systematically set to work and locate the trouble, even 
if he has to resort to the somewhat lengthy process of 
elimination. He must be resourceful. A felt hat 
makes an excellent substitute for an asbestos gasket. 
But he should not rely too much upon this resourceful- 
ness. It would be much better if he had a supply of 
extra gaskets aboard than to use the hat. His tools 
should be complete and kept in good shape. He should 
carry extras of the commoner parts, and a good supply 
of copper wire, packing, waste, etc. Pieces of rubber 
hose have a multitude of emergency uses. There should 
be an emergency five-gallon can of gasoline, plainly 
labeled, and well-stowed, perhaps under the cockpit 
floor way aft, if same is well ventilated. It should 
not be mistaken for the kerosene can when filling 
lamps. 

Carry a Serviceable Tender 

Every cruiser, no matter how small, should carry 
a serviceable tender. It should be large and strong 
enough to trust in heavy weather, and light enough to 
produce a minimum amount of perspiration when used 
as a ferry. When underway for a long run it should 
be carried and not towed, if possible. A 14-foot flat- 
bottomed cedar skiff with generous freeboard is an 
adequate dink lor a 30-footer if one is not fussy about 
mahogany and style. Shorter boats, built to carry 

68 



Equipment 



loads and stand a sea and especially designed for tender 
service, are on the market at reasonable prices. 

The question of cooking and clothing outfits, if con- 
sidered exhaustively, would fill volumes by themselves. 
Individual preferences have a large share in their selec- 
tion. But briefly we may consider a few points. First, 
the grub question. The longer one cruises, the more 
he shuns the restaurant and lives on his own resources. 
These may be frugal at first, but if he takes to cooking 
readily and learns to "live off the sea" to a great extent 
the pleasure and economy resulting from this course 
will cause him to. become an adept as time goes on. 
The smaller cruisers must cook with oil vapor or 
alcohol stoves ; the larger ones may have the luxury 
of a "Shipmate" and a tiny oven. The correct selec- 
tion of pots, pans and kettles is important, the ma- 
terial, more so. Tin is worst, graniteware only fair, 
aluminum better, but expensive, short-lived and ac- 
companied with infernally hot handles ; copper tinned 
on the inside, best of all. Plated ware knives and 
forks are better than steel. Drinking glasses should 
be thick. Earthenware bowls are very useful. You 
can serve both soup and cereals therein, to say nothing 
of stews and chowders. 

Mason Jars for Carrying Food Supplies 

The writer is a great believer in the use of Mason 
jars with screw covers for carrying food supplies. He 
uses pint sizes for things like condensed milk and 
butter, quart sizes for the usual staples, and two-quart 
ones for the most commonly used things. His friends 
think he has a mania for the use of Mason jars, for 
he carries in them such a heterogeneous collection of 
things, as matches (to insure waterproofness), pre- 
serves, salt, grape nuts, condensed milk, cocoa and 
Gold Dust, each prominently labeled. They keep out 

69 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



the moisture, keep the food much better, prevent pto- 
maine, and insure accessibility. They are easy to clean. 
Space prevents a treatment of the pleasant subject 
of what to cook and how to cook it, but space must 
be given to merely state that there is no need to limit 
oneself to eggs and bacon, varied occasionally by bacon 
and eggs — if you but learn how. And in conclusion 
of this very important subject, be absolutely sure that 




Wash day on the cruise 

you have an abundance of fresh water on board at all 
times, and enough emergency canned goods and non- 
perishable staples to give all on board healthy rations 
for at least two weeks, if you're cruising outside. 

A Word on Clothing 

Just a word on clothing. The locker room on board 
determines, to a large extent, the amount you can 
comfortably carry. A good shore outfit, stowed away 

70 



Equipment 



where it won't mildew when at sea; a semi-respectable 
outfit for expeditions to the grocery store or ship 
chandler when passing through a town; and a suitable 
boat outfit to wear on board, is all that is needed. A 
coat is absolutely useless on board; much more so than 
mittens, for instance. 

For cold weather cruising the best "uniform" consists 
of woolen underwear, woolen "lumberman's" socks, 
double-weight khaki trousers, "felts" (felt-lined rubber 
boots), flannel army shirt, woolen mittens (don't handle 
wet lines with them), woolen muffler, felt hat with ear 
laps, a close-woven sweater (optional) and either a 
lumberman's jacket (corduroy-lined leather coat) or 
the popular windproof "Mackinaw". Also oilers and 
sou'wester, of course. For warm weather cruising — 
athletic underwear, lightweight khaki trousers or sailor's 
duck working trousers (a special pair to use when 
working at engine), a sleeveless jersey, which is also 
the "upper" to your bathing suit, "sneaks", white 
canvas hat, cotton hose, a heavy sweater (or Macki- 
naw), and shirts of differing weights and degrees of 
warmth. Even in midsummer it is sometimes extremely 
cold on the dog watch. As for the shore and boating 
apparel for lady cruisers, you'll have to ask them! 
There are plenty who know. 

Below is appended a somewhat arbitrary list of what 
should be carried on a cruise in a 28 to 35-footer 
along semi-protected waterways — where replenishment 
at least every four days is reasonably certain. 

Cruising Equipment 

What to Take. — (N. B.) — For an outside cruise a more 
complete equipment of safety precautions, danger signals, 
etc., as well as a larger supply of emergency rations, should 
be carried than for an inland trip. An open boat should 
carry a tent or boards to place across the locker covers, 
and more elaborate cooking utensils than are necessary 
to take on a cruise in a cabin boat. 

71 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



Boat. — .Ground tackle; regular anchor and cable; spare 
anchor and cable; lights; bell; whistle; fog horn; fire 
extinguisher; Coston signal; compass (on long outside 
cruise, two); charts; coast pilots; tide tables; dividers; 
parallel rules; barometer and clock; life preservers; log 
book; hand lantern; pocket flash light; cabin lamp; kero- 
sene; pennants and ensign; pump for bilge; tender; spare 
lines. 

General. — Tent or set of boards (if open boat); hatchet; 
clasp knife; firearms; bucket; fishing tackle; cameras and 
films; marine glasses; writing materials and stamps; fold- 
ing table; folding chair; playing cards; candles. 

Engine. — Extra parts; gasoline; lubricating oil; hard 
grease; extra batteries; tools; wire; waste; piece rubber 
hose; packing. 

Culinary. — Stove; wood alcohol (for starting oil vapor 
stoves); matches; four granite ware plates; six teaspoons; 
three dessert spoons; four table forks; four table knives; 
four cups (no saucers); four bowls; four glasses (thick); 
bread knife; cooking fork; cooking spoon; paring knife; 
can opener; ice pick; cork screw; bottle opener; coffee pot: 
sauce pan; large kettle; fry pan (small); broiler; dish 
mop; dish chain; two cakes Fels-Naphtha soap; package 
Gold Dust; jars and tins for provision; waterproof sacks 
for provisions; Thermos bottle; provisions to be replen- 
ished from time to time; two stone jugs fresh water (if 
no fresh water tank); two quarts milk; four cans con- 
densed milk; emergency rations — two pounds hardtack; 
four cakes sweet chocolate; one -allon water, or six cans 
army emergency rations; one gallon water, six cans soup; 
one can tomatoes; one can peas; four cans baked beans; 
one jar bacon; one jar marmalade; one-half pound butter; 
package pancake flour; two loaves bread; package oatmeal; 
package grape nuts; salt; sugar; pepper; can cocoa; one- 
half peck potatoes; two packages graham crackers; package 
milk crackers; fruit. 

Personal Outfit. — Sailor work suit (blouse and trousers) ; 
pair old trousers (heavy); sailor white hat; heavy sweater; 
mackinaw; pair mittens; heavy flannel shirt; soft shirt 
(light); three pairs socks (light and heavy); two sets 
underwear; eight handkerchiefs; two pairs tennis "sneak- 
ers"; bathing suit; set oilers; sou'wester; pair double army 
blankets (two, if cold weather); waterproof bag for same 
(if open boat); pillow (small); three towels, two pairs 
pajamas; besides shore clothes. 

72 



CHAPTER V— SOME GOOD CRUISING WATERS 

Nature has been so generous to us that it doesn't 
very much matter where you are located or what size 
or type of boat you have ; as long as she floats and you 
have sufficient water to float her on, you probably have 
the opportunity for a real cruise, and sooner or later 
you will want to go cruising. With most of us it is 
sooner. 

Along our coasts and Great Lakes the distribution 
of suitable cruising water for every sort of craft has 
been so even and so complete that the chances are 
you will not have to look very far from home in order 
to find the kind of water best adapted to your boat. 
We have already indicated approximately what this 
should be — inland waters for the small open boat oper- 
ated by the novice; semi-protected waters for the stout 
small cruiser or one-man boat in the hands of the 
man of somewhat limited experience; off-shore work 
for the seasoned skipper with a craft built for 
"weather" (I care not whether she be large or small). 
Frequently, perhaps usually, a combination of all three 
kinds of waterways may be incorporated in the same 
cruise, which is a very happy end to seek in planning 
a cruise if you have a boat you can justly place con- 
fidence in. Variety is something desired by every 
cruiser (and most everybody else), and "spice" in 
cruising comes only with the excitement and exhiliration 
of the crested seas to be found outside the harbor. 

Perhaps the best concrete examples of the various 
forms of cruising waters we are blessed with are to be 
found by selecting New York City as a starting point. 
As this port and its environs comprise the chief 
pleasure boat center of this country, it is undoubtedly 
the starting point for more cruises than any other. 

73 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 





A hitch behind 



74 



Some Good Cruising Waters 



Three points of the compass lie open to our choice. 
The bow may be turned northward up the Hudson and 
by means of the canals to the lakes and rivers beyond; 
or we may head eastward through glorious Long Island 
Sound to the open water beyond ; or, again, we may 
turn to the south, running boldly down the Jersey 
coast, or taking the famous "Inside route", which so 
many cruisers annually traverse on their way to Florida. 
Roughly speaking, the cruise northward will be the 
least exciting and hazardous for the beginner, though 
by no means devoid of enjoyment to all lovers of the 
cruise; the eastward cruise provides the most zest and 
open water, while the inside route southward, if car- 
ried far enough, gives one a sample of every phase of 
cruising known from the pastoral and sometimes tedi- 
ous canal and the tortuous passages through swamp- 
land to the exposed outside runs along the Carolina 
coast, where Hatteras has a reputation for wrecks. 

A Cruise Up the Hudson Full of Interest 

The cruise up the majestic Hudson and beyond is 
full of interest and varied scenery. Until we reach 
the Great Lakes and the broader portions of Lake 
Champlain on this cruise, no water is likely to be 
encountered too rough for even the smallest boat if 
the skipper use prudence and stays in port when con- 
ditions are unfavorable. It should be remembered that 
the more exposed reaches of the lower Hudson when 
the wind and tide are working at cross purposes, are 
very disagreeable and at times even dangerous to small 
craft. Even a stout 40- footer can get a good shaking- 
up and occasionally take solid green over the bow in 
some of the uncomfortable choppy seas which make up 
on the river at certain times. The small boat cruiser 
should also look out for sudden squalls when among 
the Highlands. 

75 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 










IS 






76 



Some Good Cruising Waters 



Starting from New York, then, with a cruiser of 
ordinary speed, say 9 or 10 knots, we find the run to 
West Point, a distance of 50 miles, a pleasant one for 
the first day. On any cruise the first day's run should 
be short, and try as one will, he cannot make an early 
start on that day. There are too many last things to 
put on board, too many last things to attend to at home 
before leaving. The small open boat cruiser will find 
a very beautiful spot for spending the night on the 
west bank of the river, about five miles below West 
Point. The place is called Popola Cove and is a 
V-shaped little indentation, flanked with high wooded 
hills on either side. The West-Shore railroad bridge, 
however, prevents any but very low boats from enter- 
ing the cove, though it is worth a visit by tender from 
the craft. It should be remembered that on the 
Hudson it is well to seek shelter for the night in some 
cove or branch stream wherever possible, as the wash 
from the numerous night steamers is very annoying. 

Newburgh and Poughkeepsie are the next points of 
interest on the way up the river. Both have hospitable 
clubs, belonging to the Hudson River Association and 
at both towns gasoline and supplies may be con- 
veniently procured. When you reach Poughkeepsie 
you will be half-way up the river, or 75 miles from 
New York. 

Above Poughkeepsie the Hudson grows narrower and 
there are several shoals. The beginner will have an 
opportunity to learn the meanings of buoys and other 
aids to navigation and to read the charts. Below 
Newburgh he can go practically anywhere in the river 
he pleases. The run on up to Albany will furnish a 
capital opportunity for him to safely attempt running 
on compass bearings, estimate his speed with and 
against the tide, and to become familiar generally with 
the rudiments of inland navigation preparatory to mak- 
ing use of this knowledge later on in more open waters. 

77 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



The tide in the Hudson is an element which he should 
carefully figure upon beforehand, making his starts nt 
such times as to give him the best use of favorable 
tides. It is high tide at Albany just six hours later 
than it is at New York, and a 12-knot boat starting 
up the river at the first of the flood can carry it 
practically all the way if he runs right through. The 
beginner will be puzzled to find the tide running out 




A bell buoy 



at New York for sometimes two hours after it is low 
tide by the government tide tables. The veterans of 
the Hudson will explain the why of this to him. 

Saugertis, Kingston and Hudson (or Athens on the 
opposite shore) will be found agreeable places for 
spending the night, on the upper Hudson, providing, as 
each does, a quiet harbor ofif the main stream, where 
one can sleep without fear of landing on the floor after 
every steamer passes. The latter place is 28 miles 
below Albany, a short morning's run, leaving the 

78 



Some Good Cruising Waters 



balance of the day to inspecting the sights of New 
York's capital. At the Capitol itself, a permit for the 
use of the Erie or Champlain Canals must be procured 
from the superintendent of public works before you will 
be allowed to enter either of these state waterways. 

Canals are Deep and Easy to Navigate 

These canals are entirely free, and are deep and 
easy to navigate, as compared with some of the canals 
in the southern states. In all probability the cruiser 
will elect the Champlain Canal, unless he is bound for 
the Great Lakes or the Thousand Islands, since this is 
much shorter and less tedious because of the fewer 
locks. There is a speed regulation of six miles per 
hour in each canal. The Erie Canal is entered at 
West Troy and the Champlain at Troy. . The run across 
the state of New York by means of the former is very 
long and the locks are very numerous. To reach the 
Thousand Islands, the Erie Canal is left at Syracuse 
and the Oswego Canal entered. At the city, of Oswego, 
Lake Ontario is reached and a bold dash across the 
eastern end of the big pond bring us to the entrance 
of the St. Lawrence River, from which it is but a 
short run to Alexandria Bay. 

This run will take nearly a week, however, from 
Albany, at best, while a week is the shortest time that 
can safely be allowed for the run through the Erie 
Canal to Buffalo. The Champlain Canal, however, will 
bring one into some of the finest cruising waters of 
the country in a much shorter time, as it is only 63 
miles long and contains only 23 locks, while the Erie 
Canal is over 300 miles long. On the Champlain Canal 
a good place to lie over is Mechanicsville, from which 
place an interesting side trip to Saratoga Springs may 
be conveniently made by trolley or automobile. 

The entrance to Lake Champlain is at the little town 

79 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 




■ex 












80 



Some Good Cruising Waters 



of Whitehall. For the first 18 miles the lake is very- 
narrow, the course is crooked and appears to be more 
like a river than a lake. The scenery, however, is very 
beautiful and picturesque, and the navigation very 
simple. At Crown Point we come out into the broader 
expanse of the lake. From here it is but a short run 
to Ticonderoga, equally famous in history and now 
famous for mosquitoes. This is the nearest point to 
Lake George, five miles overland. 

Continuing up the lake, and following the Vermont 
shore, we pass a number of inviting coves and bays 
and finally pass Shelburne Point- and come to Burling- 
ton, the metropolis of the state of Vermont. This is 
a good place to lie over for a few days and make side 
trips from, making headquarters either at Burlington 
itself or at Queen City Park, a little to the southward. 
Straight across the lake on the New York shore is Port 
Kent, from which Au Sable Chasm and the Adiron- 
dacks may be easily reached by rail. Mallets Bay, 25 
miles above Burlington on the Vermont side, is another 
interesting and beautiful place with a splendid harbor. 
Farther north is Plattsburgh, on the New York side, 
and St. Albans, Vermont, then Rouse's Point, where 
the Richelieu River is entered for those bound for the 
St. Lawrence. Space will not permit dwelling on the 
delights of cruising in those superb Canadian water- 
ways, but if you have time, cruise around the triangle, 
going to the Thousand Islands, as we have indicated, 
then running down the St. Lawrence to Sorel, turning 
up the Richelieu River and returning to New York by 
way of Lake Champlain, Champlain Canal and Hudson 
River. 

The charts required for the cruise up the Hudson 
and to the lakes and other waters beyond, are as fol- 
lows : Coast and Geodetic charts Nos. 281, 282, 283, 
284, charts of Lake Champlain are now published by 
the war department. These, together with charts of 

81 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 




What the cruiser goes south for 



82 



Some Good Cruising Waters 



the Great Lakes and the upper St. Lawrence may be 
obtained by addressing Chart Department, Power Boat- 
ing, Cleveland, O. 

Florida "Inside Route" Now Well Known 

The "Inside Route" to Florida, concerning which a 
comparatively few were familiar with a decade ago, 
is now very well known and is taken annually by hun- 
dreds of pleasure craft of all kinds, sizes and descrip- 
tions. The shallower portions of the route have been 
improved somewhat during the last few years, and 
improvements in the way of dredging and the erection 
of aids to navigation are now being continued gradually. 
The route has been made much easier to follow by the 
publication by the Coast and Geodetic Survey of an 
edition of the coast charts, covering the route with the 
course to be taken on the inside route shown by a 
dotted red line. An "Inside Route Pilot" has also 
been issued by the government, which gives detailed 
sailing directions, covering the entire route from New 
York to Key West. A second volume has recently 
been issued, covering the partially inside route along 
the Gulf coast between Key West and New Orleans. 
Quite a number of cruising men who have had time 
for it, have completed the cruise around the eastern 
half of the United States, covering the Hudson, Erie 
Canal, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Missis- 
sippi River, and the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, probably 
the most pretentious cruise possible in this country. If 
taken, it should be made in that order rather than the 
reverse. The Mississippi is not an easy stream to 
buck, nor a short one. 

So much has been written about the inside route to 
Florida and the government instructions and helps are 
now so complete that we will not say more about it 
here. Taken as a whole, it is a most enjoyable cruise, 

83 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 




^ 
£ 






CO 



-si 






84 



Some Good Cruising Waters 



though to the majority of people the portion north of 
Charleston will be found the most enjoyable. 

Long Island Sound a Fine Cruising Ground 

Conveniently situated at the very door of America's 
metropolis is what many consider to be the finest sheet 
of water for cruising in the whole world — Long Island 
Sound. Other spots more beautiful in rugged grandeur 
can be found; other portions of the globe undoubtedly 
possess bits of water more picturesque and striking. 
Yet as one comes out of the choked and swirling East 
River and meets with his eye the blue sheet of salt 
water with the green shoreline stretching away in a 
gradually widening V, frees his lungs from the smoke 
and dust of the city and drinks in the pure salt-laden 
free air straight from the Atlantic, his soul must indeed 
be dead if he does not imbibe the beauty and inspiration 
of the scene. 

The Sound contains just the right amount of variety, 
just the right amount of "spice". Never is it as tame 
as the canal; never is it as dangerous to the able boat 
in skilled hands as Monomoy or Hatteras. Harbors, 
good ones and easy of access are plentiful along both 
shores, and the aids to navigation are all that could 
be desired. Always is one in sight of a light from 
lighthouse or light vessel on a clear night, and in most 
places several are visible at the same time. Long 
Island Sound is 76 nautical miles in length down its 
axis, and 16 miles wide at its widest part, off New 
Haven, Conn. Therefore, the run from New London, 
Conn., at its eastern end to New York can easily be 
made in a single day or night ; yet a two weeks' cruise 
may be profitably spent without fear of repetition or 
lack of variety without leaving its waters. 

When one is making the run through the Sound 
merely as a means to an end, if he has a fairly large 

85 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 






Out to sea with a fresh breeze, the auxiliary is supreme 



Some Good Cruising Waters 



craft and good weather, he should follow the ship 
course running from Execution Rocks light, E. by N. 
31 miles (nautical) to Stratford Shoal light; thence 
E. y 2 N. 34 miles to Cornfield light vessel; thence 
E. l /\. S. Southerly 15 miles to Race Rock light if 
bound east through the Race, or E. ]/ 2 N. Northerly 
11.7 miles to Bartless Reef light if bound for New 
London or Fisher's Island Sound. If bound for Shelter 
Island or Greenport by way of Plum Gut, he should 
maintain an E. J / 2 N. course from Matinicock Buoy 
\\y% miles, to Oldfield Point; thence E. ]/ A N. 53^ 8 
miles to Plum Gut. 

The Interesting Harbors Along the Sound 

But it is to be hoped that the cruiser on Long 
Island Sound for the first time will not have to rush 
through it without stopping, but may follow along the 
interesting coast on the Connecticut shore, returning 
by the Long Island shore. Assuming that he can 
devote sufficient time for this, we will mention the most 
suitable and interesting harbors along the north and 
south shores, from New York eastward along the Con- 
necticut shore and from Fisher's Island westward along 
the Long Island shore. Distances and bearings may 
be obtained from Charts Nos. 115 and 116, while de- 
tailed sailing directions will be found in the United 
States Coast Pilot, Vol. IV. 

City Island, at the western end of the Sound is a 
convenient harbor for lying overnight in after running- 
through the East river preparatory to running the 
Sound. Echo Bay, New Rochelle, is a small and usually 
congested harbor easily entered. It is the home of the 
New Rochelle Yacht Club. Larchmont harbor, a couple 
of miles farther east, and the home of the Larchmont 
Yacht Club, is not as cozy and comfortable or as 
convenient a harbor for the small and unpretentious 

87 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



cruiser. Stamford harbor is easy of access, but one 
has to run up quite a ways to avoid the swell, which 
is troublesome off the Stamford Yacht Club. Bridge- 
port is the next good and convenient harbor eastward, 
but this is noisy and some distance in from the Sound. 
If not in need of supplies, it is much better to keep 
on and lie over at the mouth of the Housatonic River, 
just east of Stratford Point, where a quiet harbor will 
be found, a half mile from your direct course. New 
Haven harbor is poor for yachts and the small boat 
will find a much quieter and cozier harbor at Branford, 
10 miles farther east, from which New Haven may be 
reached by trolley. The Thimble Islands, a few miles 
east of Branford, are picturesque and possess one of 
the most attractive small harbors on the Sound. Care 
should be observed in entering, however, on accourt 
of the reefs. 

The next good and convenient harbor to the east- 
ward is Duck Island, a harbor of refuge, located in 
the hollow of an L, formed by two breakwaters and 
the island itself. It is very near the direct course, but 
no supplies can be obtained there. Saybrook, at the 
mouth of the Connecticut River, comes next, a good 
harbor, with a clubhouse belonging to the Hartford 
Yacht Club, located there. To the eastward from 
Saybrook the next good harbor is New London, the 
queen of them all. Here the New York Yacht Club 
have a station, here is located the famous Hotel Gris- 
wold, here all supplies and repairs can be obtained 
with despatch. 

Harbors on the South Shore are not Numerous 

The harbors on the south shore of the Sound are 
not as numerous except at the western end. Gardiner's 
Bay, Shelter Island Sound, Great and Little Peconic 
Bays, while not properly a part of Long Island Sound, 

88 



Some Good Cruising Waters 



are easily reached by a short run from the Race or 
Plum Gut and are well worth visiting. Westward of 
the Gut the only harbor is Mattituck, until we come 
to Port Jefferson, nearly opposite Bridgeport. Then 
farther westward are the beautiful indentations of 
Huntington Bay, Oyster Bay, Hempstead Harbor and 
Manhasset Bay, each possessing several anchorages of 
more than ordinary interest and beauty. 

And yet, with all its beauty and attractions, Long 
Island Sound is but a gateway to the extensive and 
alluring cruising grounds beyond. As we pass through 
the Race between Fishers Island and Gull Island and 
enter Rock Island Sound, most of w T hich is practically 
open ocean, we feel the long, easy roll of the old 
Atlantic, find the water even bluer and the air still 
more salty and invigorating. If we prefer, we can 
run through Fishers Island Sound and enter Block 
Island Sound by Watch Hill Passage, giving us about 
nine miles more of protected water. Then comes the 
18-mile stretch along the beach to Narragansett Bay, 
which we enter after rounding Point Judith. Here is 
found the lively and fashionable harbor of Newport. 

Buzzard's Bay Close Rival of the Sound 

Continuing our cruise eastward, another day's run 
brings us well up Buzzard's Bay, a close rival of Long 
Island Sound in cruising delights. By means of the 
Cape Cod Canal we easily reach Cape Cod Bay, the 
quaint old harbor of Plymouth, and Boston Harbor. 
It is then a long outside run to Portland Harbor, 
Maine, where fairyland itself begins for all who have 
time to cruise down the famous Maine Coast. All the 
way to Eastport an inside route w T ith occasional open 
stretches threads its way through green-covered islands. 
Rocks are plentiful and there is not timber in the 
state of Maine to buoy them all, but the water is deep 

89 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 




Pilgrim monument at Pr ovine et own, overlooking 
Massachusetts bay 



90 



Some Good Cruising Waters 



and navigation profoundly interesting. To mention 
the delightful harbors well worth visiting along the 
Maine Coast would be merely to read the names off 
the map as we chug eastward down this ragged rock- 
strewn coast of both wild and gentle character. No- 
body should miss a cruise along the Maine Coast some 
time in his cruising career. 

Great Lakes a Cruiser's Paradise 

There are several other portions of this great coun- 
try where the power boat cruiser may find splendid 
and beautiful waterways to explore. Certain parts of 
the Great Lakes are a cruiser's paradise in themselves, 
possessing plenty of change and interesting country to 
satisfy the most exacting for years. The Mississippi 
is well worth cruising down. The Pacific Coast 
possesses many unique features and cruising conditions 
there are such as to attract the most adventurous. There 
are very extensive cruising grounds, however, suffi- 
ciently protected to afford the small boat owner a 
lifetime of enjoyment. Of these Puget Sound is 
world-famous. Many consider the inside route up the 
British Columbia and Alaskan Coast to be the finest 
cruise in the world. 

And so we find that no matter in what particular 
spot upon this planet we happen to have our habitation 
we shall not lack for a place to cruise. To many of 
us it is impossible to get away for more than week-end 
trips, with an occasional week or two weeks for a 
"real one" to strange waters. To others of us may 
sometimes come the special privilege of a month or six 
months aboard the cruiser. 

But whether the cruise be short or long, whether 
it be made in an open dory or a palatial houseboat, 
and whether it be to Coney Island or the Florida Keys, 
its opportunities are there. Opportunities for pure 

91 



The Power Cruiser's Pilot 



sport, wholesome and life-renewing; opportunities for 
bringing out the best there is in a man by close 
intimacy with a kind and with an angry sea. 

Such opportunities you will discover and enjoy in 
fullest measure if you but plan well, start well, finish 
well; — in short, if you but cruise well. It has been 
my aim in this little book to help the new recruit in 
our great power boat navy achieve this happy end in 
the shortest and most painless manner. And I sin- 
cerely hope that the foregoing remarks, as scattered 
and disjointed perhaps as a swirling tide rip, may at 
least enable those putting out from the home port for 
the first time to find some shelter behind the friendly 
breakwater of experience. 



92 



Some Good Cruising Waters 








93 




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